PolicyMap & American Community Survey: Racial Homeownership Gap
| Details | homeownership, race/ethnicity |
|---|---|
| Topics | Homeowners, race, ethnicity, diversity |
| Source | U.S. Census American Community Survey (ACS), PolicyMap |
| Years Available | 2009-2013, 2014-2018, 2019-2023 |
| Geographies | Block group, tract, ZCTA, county subdivision, county, congressional district, metro division, metro area, state |
| Public Edition or Subscriber-only | premium |
| Download Available | yes |
| For more information | http://www.census.gov/acs |
| Last updated on PolicyMap | February 2025 |
Description:
PolicyMap calculated the racial homeownership gap data layers using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2009-2013, 2014-2018, 2019-2023 estimates. For both percentage gap and ratio, PolicyMap used a total of eight homeownership and renter indicators by race/ethnicity categories provided by the US Census Bureau. These included the ethnic category Hispanic or Latino and the following seven racial categories: Non-Hispanic White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, some other race, and two or more races.
The racial homeownership gap represents the percentage gap between Non-Hispanic White homeowners to a given race or ethnicity. PolicyMap calculated the gap using percent of owner households by race subtracted from percent of Non-Hispanic White owner households. The ratio compares the percent of owner households of a given race to percent of Non-Hispanic White owner households. PolicyMap calculated the ratios using percent of owner households of a given race to percent of Non-Hispanic White owner households. Differences between ratio and percentage gap lie in the usage of the indicators. The ratio is for comparing geographies around the country to each other over periods of time. Values closer to one in the ratio indicate a more equitable or equal to Non-Hispanic White. Percentage gaps show the difference between a given race to Non-Hispanic White but doesn’t quantify equitability to Non-Hispanic White. The same calculations were used for the renter’s gap.
The US Census identifies the householder as the person in whose name the home is owned, being bought or rented. If there is no such person, present any household member 15 years and older can serve as the householder for the purpose of the Census.
Geographies with percent calculations are suppressed in cases where the denominator of the calculation was less than 10 households.